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In Brampton, a return to Fennell-era dysfunction

Mayor Linda Jeffrey was elected to clean up city hall, but it’s still a mess.

Mayor Linda Jeffrey is the antithesis of her predecessor in many ways, yet critics suggest her actions haven't helped a fractious council work together more harmoniously. (RICK MADONIK / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

Longtime supporter and ally Elaine Moore has become Linda Jeffrey's primary critic, particularly over the divisive issue of an LRT route through Brampton. (DAVID COOPER / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

Former premier and Brampton resident Bill Davis was an enthusiastic supporter of Linda Jeffrey on her election as mayor, but is wary of another wasted term as a result of council dysfunction.
(ANDREW FRANCIS WALLACE / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

Bill Davis walked onto the stage in a Brampton banquet hall to introduce the city’s new mayor, as wide-eyed supporters waited to hear their new leader’s vision to rehabilitate an aching city. Linda Jeffrey had just put an end to four painful years under Susan Fennell.

As they circled the dance floor to bhangra music and noshed on samosas, the euphoric crowd could not imagine the painful 18 months that were about to unfold.

It was election night, Oct. 27, 2014.

Her landslide victory over Fennell “sent a clear message that (voters) want a better Brampton . . . We needed real leadership,” Jeffrey said that night, as Davis, the revered former Ontario premier — who knows a thing or two about leadership — looked on.

Brampton had just experienced four years of scandal emanating from the mayor’s office. A series of Star investigations revealed a history of reckless spending by Fennell and her staff; that a private gala in her name raised hundreds of thousands of dollars annually without financial disclosure — including tens of thousands that came from city coffers without council’s knowledge; and that hundreds of city contracts awarded to a close friend of Fennell.

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Controversies ground council activity to a standstill while crucial city-building issues were neglected. Meanwhile, a $28.5-million lawsuit against the city alleging widespread staff misconduct in a $500-million downtown redevelopment project made it difficult for councillors to work with key bureaucrats. (The city denies all the allegations against it in the ongoing lawsuit.)

As council was consumed by scandal and infighting, Brampton’s reputation beyond city hall continued to sink. In 2014 the Conference Board of Canada gave it the lowest possible grade in its rating of the best Canadian cities to move to, based on economic and social conditions, describing Brampton as “struggling.”

While Mississauga, to the south, has become a model for post-suburban growth, Brampton’s downtown is on life support; the city’s growth is dominated by residential sprawl dictated by developers with little council oversight, and its workforce of mostly blue-collar employees continues to suffer as manufacturing has stalled.

Brampton councillors voted for pay raises that placed them among the highest paid city councils in Canada, and elevated Fennell’s salary to make her the highest paid mayor. Additional perks given to themselves included an unparalleled severance payout of up to 18 months’ salary.

“It was almost like a comedy series,” said Chris Bejnar, a resident who voted for Jeffrey and is a co-chair of the group Citizens For a Better Brampton, created in response to the controversial downtown development deal. “But it might actually be worse, now.”

Fast forward to 2016 and city hall under Mayor Linda Jeffrey. Critics say a new form of dysfunction is again paralyzing council. Some recent examples:

Two councillors’ offices were relocated after one of them claimed to be a victim of bullying and intimidation by colleagues.

At least two recent meetings were dominated by heated discussion about the disappearance of a Twitter account that two councillors shared, with one councillor calling for an investigation.

After the former chief administrative officer left 14 months ago — sources at the time said his job was terminated — the acting top bureaucrat has been absent from work for over two months. City staff say she is dealing with a personal matter.

Councillors have filed a series of formal complaints against each other over alleged violations of the code of conduct, and the husband of Councillor Gael Miles, Larry Zacher, used vulgar language in an email sent to Councillor John Sprovieri. The email followed council’s decision not to cover over $90,000 in debt racked up by Brampton Safe City, the non-profit group Zacher ran. During a council meeting, Sprovieri called for a police investigation into the now defunct community group’s use of the money. In a recent internal email to councillors and senior staff leaked to the public, Miles accused some fellow members of “cruel, malicious, underhanded and deceitful actions, deal making, vote trading, including personal attacks on other members of council and staff.”

The poisoned atmosphere on council has become a disturbing narrative, pushing aside significant issues for Brampton’s future — landing its first university, job creation, planning for 400,000 new residents in coming decades, revitalizing a dreary downtown, and a possible battle with Mississauga over the future of regional government.

“I’m looking forward to the future,” Jeffrey said, when asked about the council dysfunction.

“All councils disagree at times, but our job is to represent the residents and to move forward and to be professional. There are some very big issues on the horizon, and as mayor it’s my job to be focused on where we’re going, how to get there.

“I can’t make council get along with each other.”

She has tried.

Her recent plan for an off-site getaway specifically so council could heal its wounds failed miserably, according to internal emails between councillors reported on in the media. Members traded vicious, schoolyard style attacks while rejecting the push for reconciliation.

Bejnar and others keeping a close eye on city hall blame the mayor’s own actions for the widening divide.

“The way she handled, and is continuing to handle, the LRT issue is doing a significant amount of damage to this city,” Bejnar said.

A proposed LRT route along Main St. was defeated in a 10-1 vote by the previous council, with no agreed alternative.

After Jeffrey gained control of the mayor’s office she took an intractable stance in support of the province’s preferred Main St. route. The LRT debate quickly divided councillors and city hall players into two camps: those aligned with Jeffrey and those pushing for a “made in Brampton” route they felt would better serve the city.

Veteran Councillor Elaine Moore fell squarely into the latter group. She is seen by many of the mayor’s supporters as the leader of a majority faction predisposed to disagreeing with Jeffrey.

In October the mayor’s rivals won the LRT vote, removing the Main St. route as an option and spoiling months of intense effort by Jeffrey, who had packed council meetings with supporters that mischaracterized her opponents as being anti-LRT.

The issue has continued to polarize council. Jeffrey has since refused to support any of the alternative LRT routes that council voted to study.

Asked about the council gridlock, Moore said, “The election of Linda Jeffrey was welcomed and celebrated.”

The two had been council allies before Jeffrey departed for Queen’s Park in 2003. In 2007, Moore served as Jeffrey’s campaign manager, helping her win re-election to the legislature.

“Every one of us, without exception, were eager to get behind our new mayor, roll up our sleeves and start doing the heavy lifting we needed to do to get this city moving forward on things that had been neglected under the former regime,” Moore said.

“Instead we find ourselves in a different kind of dysfunction — the kind that happens when the mayor and some members of council choose to undermine and criticize the democratic decisions made by a clear majority of council.”

Davis, who remains passionate about his hometown, said the council divide is part of politics, but he’s wary of another wasted term. “You’re dealing with personalities,” Davis said of the current dynamics on council. “I’m not excusing anyone — they’re going to be there for another two years.”

Davis said he still has faith in Jeffrey. In 2000, when he threw his support behind Fennell, helping her defeat three-term incumbent Peter Robertson, he had high hopes for her, too. But Fennell, by Davis’s admission, turned out to be little more than a loud cheerleader who spent a lot of time and energy building her own brand.

Jeffrey is almost the antithesis. She often doesn’t speak on key issues in council debates, letting surrogates handle the messaging.

After winning the election she immediately reduced her salary by $50,000. Jeffrey also quickly took steps such as implementing a lobbyist registry, to reduce the influence of developers.

She has been the driving progressive voice on several issues, criticizing Moore and those who gave themselves a 7 per cent pay hike along with other lavish perks, while Jeffrey refused a much larger increase proposed for her — though she did push through a 10 per cent increase last year for “labour expenditures” for her own staffing costs.

Jeffrey has taken the lead to make city hall and other public institutions, such as Peel police, more reflective and accommodating of the city’s diverse population, which is about 70 per cent visible minorities.

She has taken steps to offer city documents in various languages and successfully pushed to remove the reading of the Lord’s Prayer from council meetings.

Her refusal to accept the Main St. LRT decision, viewed by council opponents as an autocratic approach learned during her ministerial posts at Queen’s Park, is consistent with her promise to get things done, even if it’s on her own terms.

“Mayor Jeffrey is right to continue to speak out for what she thinks Brampton should do to move forward,” said Kevin Montgomery, co-founder of the group Fight Gridlock in Brampton, a vocal advocate for Jeffrey and her continued push for the Main St. LRT. “Mayors across Canada don’t give up on their vision, and I don’t see Mayor Jeffrey giving up on city-building.”

Jeffrey suggests she’s going to continue with that approach and that the city can’t afford to have her bogged down by personal differences.

“I’m going to keep trying to elevate the conversation. I try to do it in these chambers, I try to do it one-on-one, I try to do it in camera. We in council are a work in progress.” Of council’s 11 members, she points out, seven are new this term — a big turnover.

“It’s hard to develop a team overnight. I think the Leafs have struggled with it for a long time, as have the Raptors and everybody else.”

Davis remains patient, but points out that the city’s failed leadership is evident when you look south of Highway 407 to the towering success of Mississauga, compared with the lack of progress north of the highway in Brampton.

“You have to get to the very basis of the problem here,” he said, reflecting on the obstacle immediately ahead. “There’s a major difference between the mayor and . . . the balance of council, and you’re not going to rectify that overnight.”

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WHO’S WHO ON BRAMPTON COUNCIL

John Sprovieri: He has served since 1988, is the loudest critic of the controversial $500-million downtown development deal and has voted against the mayor on key issues.

Jeff Bowman: Elected in 2014, he has established himself as someone who does his homework. He has opposed the mayor on most, but not all, major issues.

Doug Whillans: The council rookie — son of popular former mayor Ken Whillans — is part of the group that challenges the mayor on most controversial decisions.

Elaine Moore: On council since 2000, after serving as a school trustee, she was former mayor Susan Fennell’s most effective critic and has taken on the same role toward the current mayor.

Grant Gibson: The son of a former councillor, he has served since 1991. He was often opposed to Susan Fennell and has challenged Linda Jeffrey at times.

Michael Palleschi: The son of a retired former councillor, he won the seat formerly held by his father, Paul, in 2014. Has generally voted against the mayor on key issues.

Gael Miles: She has served since 1988 and was Susan Fennell’s loudest supporter. She often focuses on issues close to her, such as the community group she and her husband ran.

Pat Fortini: Another rookie, he supported the mayor early on but has since wavered. He has been a critic of the city hall expansion project, questioning how the process was handled.

Gurpreet Dhillon: Elected in 2014, he is a strong supporter of the mayor. He often handles the messaging for her on key issues during council meetings.

Martin Medeiros: The rookie serves as the mayor’s principal surrogate on council, in lockstep with her on all major issues.

Mayor Linda Jeffrey: She served on council from 1991 to 2003, then left after winning a seat in the provincial legislature. She easily defeated Susan Fennell in the 2014 mayoral election.

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